Smooth Skiing at Canada's Rocky Mountains

THE MOANING whistle of an approaching train spilled over downtown Banff. The sound surged, then echoed its retreat down the Bow Valley.

Noises like this one remind us why anyone is here in this valley at all. In 1883, the transcontinental line of the
Canadian Pacific Railway
(CPR) was in its final stages of completion in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Three railroad workers wandered into the mountains searching for gold. They stumbled instead upon natural hot springs. Sensing opportunity, they filed a claim on the land. The government denied them, and opted to create Banff National Park.

ENLARGE

Lake Louise Ski Area
Chris Moseley

With completion of the railway, the mountains were finally easy to access. The CPR lured folks with the promise of romantic travel to the great outdoors. The people flooded in, and a town sprang up around them.

In a lush valley on the banks of the Bow River, flanked by jagged peaks of the Rockies, Banff (population 7,600) still caters to those looking for a brush with wilderness. Earlier this winter I wanted to leave city life behind and take in some of that mountain air—as well as experience Banff's world-class hiking and skiing.

ENLARGE

Lake Louise Lodge of the Ten Peaks
Henry Georgi

I started with a hike 15 miles northwest of downtown Banff, up in rugged Johnston Canyon, where witch's hair moss hung from spruce trees, their branches heavy with snow. A trail snaked back and forth along the narrow canyon that a winding creek had cut into limestone cliffs. The trail gave way to a man-made catwalk suspended over the creek's frozen water. At one point, the canyon walls were so close together above the catwalk that I had to crouch down to reach the other side, where the Upper Falls came into view. They were frozen over, a dripping chandelier of blue-white ice nearly a hundred feet tall.

Later that day, I made my way up Sulphur Mountain toward the famous Upper Hot Springs, Banff's first calling card. The temperature that afternoon was below freezing, and I slid quickly into the 102-degree hot springs. The smell of sulfur was strong and the water tingled. I watched the sky turn purple over Mount Rundle.

The Lowdown: Bouncing Around Banff

ENLARGE

Getting There: Air Canada flies nonstop from Newark to Calgary daily (about five hours). It is an approximately 1½-hour drive west along the Trans-Canada Highway to Banff National Park; the town is 9 miles inside the park entrance.

Staying There: Accommodations in the town of Banff include the Fairmont Banff Springs, modeled after a Scottish castle (rooms from $300 per night, fairmont.com). In Lake Louise, the Post Hotel and Spa offers posh accommodations. The area's only Relais & Châteaux property, the hotel has a restaurant with a 23,000 bottle wine collection (rooms from $345, posthotel.com).

Adventuring There: Discover Banff Tours organizes ice canyon walks, hiking, ice climbing and snow shoeing (banfftours.com). Go to Sunshine Village, Mount Norquay or the Lake Louise Ski Area for world-class skiing (skibig3.com). Banff Upper Hot Springs is open year-round, and the water is always between 98 and 104 degrees. You can schedule a massage or other spa service at the adjoining Pleiades Massage & Spa. It's located at the top of Mountain Avenue, 2½ miles south of Banff town center (hotsprings.ca).

The next morning, I was standing on a mountaintop, looking out over a snowy sea of peaks. "I thought the Colorado Rockies were the end of the Rainbow," Dave Riley told me, "then I found Banff." Mr. Riley recently moved from Colorado to work as Chief Operating Officer of one of Banff's three major ski destinations, Sunshine Village. With a 15-minute gondola ride required just to reach the base of the ski hill, Sunshine is embedded in wilderness.

There wasn't a car or road in sight. I chased Mr. Riley on skis through dry powder over three mountain faces. Much of the skiing was over open, high-alpine terrain.

Back in the car, I headed deeper into the park, along the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway, to Lake Louise. It's a small settlement, with a few posh accommodations, including the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the Post Hotel and Spa.

As with Sunshine Village, there is no scene to contend with at Lake Louise Ski Area. It's all about the skiing, and because it's so far north, the season lasts from November into May. The snow (or "Champagne powder," as the locals boast) is so reliable that each season, the first event of the World Cup skiing calendar is held at Lake Louise.

"There's a constant feeling of heritage swirling around the mountain," Edmonton native Conor McKeown told me as we rode up the chairlift. "This place is very in touch with where it came from. The mountain retains a rugged, individual feel."

The man largely responsible for that feel is Charlie Locke. The son of a dairy farmer from outside Calgary, Mr. Locke has lived most of his life out of doors and has summited most of the peaks in the Banff area. He bought a stake of the company that would become Lake Louise Ski Area in 1974 and Mr. Locke now controls the operation.

‘There's no scene to contend with. It's all about the skiing, and the season lasts into May.’

I disembarked the chairlift and found Mr. Locke at the precipice of a steep, mogul-cluttered run, clipping himself into his bindings. He started skiing 59 years ago and now spends a few hours on the mountain four days a week. We stood looking out. The sky was a hard and empty blue; the Canadian Rockies glistened in the sun.

"You see that?" he asked.

"I don't see anything," I said. "Except mountains."

"Exactly," he said. "Here in the park you're in unspoiled wilderness. Your kids will bring their kids here and see the same thing we're seeing now." He grinned and pushed off.

My eyes drifted down into the valley. I saw nothing remotely resembling the city I had left behind. The only sign of civilization was the lone railway line that began all of this more than a century ago. A train appeared from the west, snaking through the pines, hugging the Bow River.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.